MSc Water and Environmental Engineering

Entry standards

Applicants should possess a minimum of a Lower Second class honours degree or equivalent in any appropriate engineering or science degree.  Candidates from different backgrounds with at least 4 years relevant experience and/or professional qualification could also be considered.

English language requirements

Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).

Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.

MSc Water and Environmental Engineering - structure and modules

Module Titles

Compulsory Modules

• Environmental Health
• Water Treatment
• Applied Chemistry and Microbiology
• Wastewater Treatment and Sewerage
• Pollution Control and Waste Management
• Dissertation Project

Optional Modules

• Groundwater Control
• Regulation and Management 1
• Water Resources Management and Hydraulic Modelling
• European Study Tour

Compulsory Modules 

Environmental Health 

This module provides you with key concepts in environmental health as they apply to water quality management and control of water-related diseases. 

Water Treatment 

This module details key issues relating to raw water sources, water treatment, distribution systems, water quality and reservoirs, advances in chemical treatment and performance. 

Applied Chemistry and Microbiology 

This module develops an understanding of water chemistry, microbiology and chemical processes associated with water and wastewater treatment. 

Wastewater Treatment and Sewerage 

This module provides an understanding of the roles of preliminary, primary, secondary and tertiary wastewater treatment processes and also includes sewerage design and construction methods. 

Pollution Control and Waste Management 

This module details both conventional and advanced techniques for the treatment of industrial pollution. An emphasis is also placed on waste treatment and disposal, landfill design/operation, incineration and contaminated land remediation. 

Dissertation Project 

The MSc dissertation will require you to conduct research and/or display the ability to critically evaluate evidence. Dissertation projects could be based on original laboratory experimentation, field testing, pilot plant work or literature review. 

Optional Modules 

Groundwater Control 

This module develops a comprehensive understanding of the geological context of groundwater and a range of contaminants and pollutants which may influence groundwater quality, together with a knowledge of numerical and physical modelling techniques. 

Regulation and Management 1 

This module provides a systematic understanding and critical awareness of effective planning for the management of water resources and water supply. The legal and scientific basis of regulations and standards are detailed.

Water Resources Management and Hydraulic Modelling 

This module provides a detailed appreciation of hydrological processes. It also provides a knowledge of the theoretical background of mathematical models and the associated numerical techniques. A detailed understanding of simulation techniques will be gained through case studies. 

European Study Tour 

This module seeks to develop both a conceptual understanding and provide a basis for the critical evaluation of approaches adopted by Dutch or German organisations to water abstraction and treatment for potable supply. You will develop a systematic understanding and critical awareness of a range of approaches to interactions within the water cycle.

Programme Overview 

Modules are taught during both the Autumn and Spring semesters of the academic year. One module for each programme is normally completed during the Easter vacation and assessed on the quality of a fieldbook and a formal report. The module comprises a European study tour for the Water and Environmental Engineering programme, and an industrial project for the Water Regulation and Management programme. They both have a duration of five days. 

The MSc and Postgraduate Diploma programme in Water and Environmental Engineering provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge in five compulsory modules. In addition MSc and Postgraduate Diploma students will be provided with opportunities to develop a comprehensive understanding in at least a further three optional modules chosen from the remaining four available. Postgraduate Certificate students will develop and demonstrate knowledge in four modules chosen from the full compulsory and optional module list with the approval of the Programme Director. 

The MSc and Postgraduate Diploma programmes in Water Regulation and Management provide opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge in eight compulsory modules. 

If you are enrolled on an MSc programme you are required to produce a dissertation on a suitable topic (specific requirements will be supplied in the programme regulations). The dissertation involves the concentrated study of a topic and is formally approved and assessed. Some projects are University-based, some may involve collaboration with industry, and others involve collecting data from overseas countries. You will be required to submit a detailed plan of the project proposal. The proposals will be approved by the programme team and an appropriate supervisor assigned to you.

Modules and Credits

All compulsory and optional modules are worth 15 credits. The dissertation project is worth 60 credits

MSc Water and Environmental Engineering - entry standards

Entry standards

Applicants should possess a minimum of a Lower Second class honours degree or equivalent in any appropriate engineering or science degree.  Candidates from different backgrounds with at least 4 years relevant experience and/or professional qualification could also be considered.

English language requirements

Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).

Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.

Planned intake

Up to 30

Start date

September, February

Programme Director

• Dr Sabeha Ouki

MSc Water and Environmental Engineering - fees and funding

Fees

Water & Environmental Engineering (full time):

UK/EU - £5,740 
Overseas - £14,830

Water & Environmental Engineering (part time - per module and for the dissertation):

UK/EU - £638 
Overseas - £1,648

www.surrey.ac.uk/pgfees/2012

Funding

Overseas students should contact the British Council in their home country for available funding. 

Home students with an engineering background and some industrial experience can apply for the Panasonic Trust Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering.

MSc Water and Environmental Engineering - professional context

Industry Connections 

CEHE is able to draw on the specialised expertise of professional contacts to give an added dimension to the MSc programme.

CEHE has collaborative links with numerous industrial organisations in the UK and overseas. A number of these contacts have been associated with MSc teaching and dissertation-related research or development activities. More recently these have included Thames Water, Southern Water, Wessex Water, Black and Veatch, Veolia Environmental Services Ltd, Atkins, Mott McDonalds Ltd, Water Quality Management Ltd, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Stadtwerke Karlsruhe, Germany. 

Particularly strong collaborative relationships are maintained with the Drinking Water Inspectorate. The British Geological Survey, Imperial College, London, University College, London, Kings College, London, the Natural History Museum, London, and the Reading Public Health Laboratories all contribute to the MSc programme. 

The Centre has a particularly prestigious international profile. CEHE is part of a designated World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre and also an invited member of the UNICEF WASH Cluster Group of Relief Agencies. In recent years extensive connections relating to development and testing operations have been maintained with Oxfam UK. RedR training programmes have been hosted by the Centre. Other developing world or humanitarian relief connections have included MSF, PAHO and CEPIS, Peru.

Professional recognition

This degree is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineering (CEng) candidate who has already acquired an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng (Hons) or Accredited IEng (Full) BEng /BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree.

See www.jbm.org.uk for further information.

MSc Water and Environmental Engineering - teaching

Teaching hours

Each module corresponds to150 hours of work, which includes 30 hours of lectures.

Teaching

Teaching and learning will normally be achieved by a combination of formal lectures, coursework, demonstrations and group projects, except in the case of the European study tour or industrial project and the dissertation modules. In all other modules assessment will be by a combination of examinations and continuous assessment. Coursework sometimes involves individual or group projects. 

Each module will be examined separately. Where appropriate, there will be a written examination for a module at the end of each semester. 

Water and Environmental Engineering lectures are delivered primarily by staff from the Centre for Environmental Health Engineering (CEHE) and visiting lecturers with national or international reputations in the topic area. 

On the Water Regulation and Management programme the industrial project, Regulation and Management 2, and Drinking Water Safety Plans modules are almost entirely delivered by professional staff from the Drinking Water Inspectorate for England and Wales.

Staff perspective

Dr Sabeha Ouki

MSc Water and Environmental Engineering - learning

Facilities and Resources – Laboratories and Pilot Plants 

In recent years the CEHE has benefited from investment in new equipment in both the small centre facility, which primarily supports fieldwork, and a larger, more extensively equipped microbiology and chemistry laboratory. The laboratories are equipped with recently acquired state-of-the-art analytical equipment, including ICP-OES, GC/MS, TOC, Ion Chromatograph, Particle Counter, and with water quality loggers, Delagua kits and so on, available for fieldwork. 

A water and wastewater research pilot plant is located at Thames Water’s Shalford and Godalming Water Treatment Works, just a few kilometres away from the University campus. Over the years, many MSc dissertation projects have been completed at the facility, most of them to assist in the development or testing of relief agency systems. 

A parallel wastewater research pilot plant has recently been established, again with the support of Thames Water, at Godalming Sewage Treatment Works. 

Library Facilities 

The University Library is currently resourced for books, journals and electronic resources, as the postgraduate programme in Water and Environmental Engineering has been well established over the last decade. The programme draws on science, engineering and other areas of knowledge and the overall diversity of academic groups within the University ensures that there are library resources to answer most needs. The provision of British Standards online has reduced the copyright requirements and the quantity of photocopying required. Passwords are available from the Library web pages for all other electronic resources. 

CEHE Resource Centre 

Provision is made within CEHE to access a limited range of textbooks, previously completed MSc dissertations, a selected range of journals and software mounted on PCs in the Catchment Modelling Laboratory or available on CD. 

Professional Institution Resources 

Library and learning resources are available at the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and other appropriate professional bodies. 

All categories of members of the professional institutions are allowed to borrow books from the institution libraries by post and in some cases to access other services online. 

Computing 

There are suitable computing facilities available both within the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and through central University facilities. 

Teaching Rooms 

Teaching is primarily in flat floor teaching rooms, although there are occasions when formal lecture theatre facilities are used. All of the usual academic support materials and systems are available and preprinted notes are distributed during every lecture.

MSc Water and Environmental Engineering - graduate profile

Graduate Profile: Chikodili Edeh

MSc Water and Environmental Engineering

While at UNICAL doing a Postgraduate Diploma in coastal zone management, I came across the University of Surrey’s programme in Water and Environmental Engineering which matched my academic and learning goals. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the University was one of the best rated in the UK and has a serene and very interesting study environment. 

The most fascinating thing for me was the support I received from my lecturers and staff in the Department. The lecturers were friendly, encouraging and willing to listen to questions or anxieties about both academic and non-academic challenges. 

The programme provided me with great exposure to the water and environment industry; the challenges, the benefits and the different approaches by various companies and municipalities in the UK and Europe. This exposure was most pronounced by the European study tour event, an optional module that allowed us to assess the water treatment technologies employed by different European countries. 

For me the best thing was being able to register as a student member of CIWEM (the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management), a professional umbrella body. This massively enhanced my employment opportunities and improved my career prospects and professional development potential. 

Studying here helped me to focus on my career objectives by providing the confidence I need at this stage in order to prepare for the next. It is my desire to progress to a PhD here at Surrey in the future.

MSc Water and Environmental Engineering - more

MSc Water and Environmental Engineering - apply

• MSc Water and Environmental Engineering - Full-time - starting Sep 2012